First Hike Above 8,000ft.

Looking down at 8,000 ft.

             Well, I had a new highpoint a few weeks ago. It was my first hike above 8,000 ft since the docs removed half my right lung. Not only was it the first hike,  but it was the first time above 8,000 ft. without an oxygen tank.  This was a huge deal and my first of many big steps that I will need to take in order to accomplish my goal of defeating Mt. Wrightson by the end of summer!

Park Ranger Barbie Outfit

                     We got up to Box Camp Trail on Mt. Lemmon around 11am.  I was prepared with my husband's hat (I grabbed the wrong one) new boots, hiking sticks and even a cute little hiking skirt. We refer to this outfit as my Park Ranger Barbie outfit. I think its cute. And after hiking in this, I don't think I'll be hiking in anything other than skirts until winter comes. I was so comfortable. We looked at the map at the trail head and decided that this would be a good getting back into shape trail.
   
                         So we headed up the trail that starts out as a few small switch backs. My friend was a little concerned for me since we started up right away. However, the up part did not last long. In fact, it started down pretty early. I was so excited that I was doing so well that I didn't think about the up that we would have to navigate on the way back.

There were some really great views on this trail. It seems a bit sad when you see how many trees were destroyed in the big fire a few years back, but the dead and damaged trees do add a bit of eeriness to the imagery. From this area you can see the ski lodge off to the left and if you look up and to the right you can see summer haven

After we hiked down a little bit more we reached the area that I refer to as Fern Gully. The path goes through a large clearing and there is very little there but ferns and shrubs. During the big fire, most of the trees in this area were lost and all that has started growing back at this point are the ferns. It is actually very lovely and a nice flat patch of trail to rest a bit on the way back.

This hike didn't last for too long, I think round trip we did about 3 miles. The return part was a bit more difficult since it was nothing but up. However, I think it was a great achievement for me and I plan on going back and heading out a bit further each time.